Key Thinkers in Childhood Studies presents the contrasting perspectives of some of the leading figures involved in shaping the field of Childhood Studies over the last 30 years. Using in-depth interviews, twenty-two high profile pioneers, who represent a range of disciplines and nationalities, share personal and unpublished accounts of their work and careers. They reflect upon the significant changes that have taken place in the study of children and childhood, discuss the evolution of ideas underpinning the field, examine current tensions and dilemmas and explore challenges for the future. This book fills a gap by offering important insights into researchers' experiences in Childhood Studies and their ideas about the central issues confronting the field. It will be of interest to students, practitioners and experienced academics from all disciplinary backgrounds who are seeking to contextualise, understand and advance our understanding of childhood, children and youth.

The book contains original essays by distinguished moral and political philosophers on the topic of the moral and political status of children. It covers the themes of children's rights, parental rights and duties, the family and justice, and civic education.

Media and the Sexualization of Childhood examines the on-going debates surrounding the prominence of sexual themes in children's lives, from clothes and accessories, toys and games, to music, entertainment media, advertising, and new media platforms. Parents, educators and politicians around the developed world have raised concerns about the effects all these experiences can have on the socialisation and psychological development of children and the extent to which the premature introduction of sexuality into their lives can place them at risk of unwanted attention. This book explores these issues using an evidence based approach that draws on research findings from around the world, representing the most comprehensive single account of the field. The book will be invaluable to students studying topics surrounding children and the media and childhood studies, as well as students of communication, media, cultural studies, sociology, psychology and health science.

Media and the Sexualization of Childhood examines the on-going debates surrounding the prominence of sexual themes in children's lives, from clothes and accessories, toys and games, to music, entertainment media, advertising, and new media platforms. Parents, educators and politicians around the developed world have raised concerns about the effects all these experiences can have on the socialisation and psychological development of children and the extent to which the premature introduction of sexuality into their lives can place them at risk of unwanted attention. This book explores these issues using an evidence based approach that draws on research findings from around the world, representing the most comprehensive single account of the field. The book will be invaluable to students studying topics surrounding children and the media and childhood studies, as well as students of communication, media, cultural studies, sociology, psychology and health science.

Children's Rights and Moral Parenting offers systematic treatment of a variety of issues involving the intersection of the rights of children and the moral responsibility of parents. Mark C. Vopat offers a theory of the relationship between children, parents, and the state that can be applied to the real life decisions that parents are often in the position to make on behalf of their children. In many instances, our current view of parental "rights" has granted parents far more discretion than is morally warranted. Vopat arrives at this conclusion by carefully considering the unique status children have; socially, legally, and morally in most western societies. Children's Rights and Moral Parenting is essentially contractualist in the Rawlsian tradition. While it may appear counterintuitive to speak of children in terms of the social contract tradition, there is much this approach can do to provide some conceptual clarity to the nature of the relationship between children, parents and the state. The overarching theme of the book is the moral independence of children from extreme forms of parental and, at times, social control. The objective of the book is to provide an argument for extending the range of things owed to children, as well as making the case for fully including children in the moral community.

How might society benefit if children were recognized as independent thinkers, capable of seeing clearly and contributing in valuable ways to our world? How would children's lives change if what they said was not often ignored or patronized? In the United States and around the world, ageism remains a widespread prejudice, leading us to make assumptions about, dismiss, and underestimate the perspectives of people of particular ages, including children. Before they utter a word, their voices are judged as less important than those of adults, or as not important at all. In a series of conversations with children about many of life's important philosophical questions, Seen and Not Heardreveals children as perceptive and original thinkers. Guided by discussions about the meaning of childhood, friendship, justice and fairness, happiness, and death, the book invites us to rethink our beliefs about children and become more receptive to the ways we can learn from the children in our lives.

The result of a unique research project exploring the relationship between children's vernacular play cultures and their media-based play, this collection challenges two popular misconceptions about children's play: that it is depleted or even dying out and that it is threatened by contemporary media such as television and computer games. A key element in the research was the digitization and analysis of Iona and Peter Opie's sound recordings of children's playground and street games from the 1970s and 1980s. This framed and enabled the research team's studies both of the Opies' documents of mid-twentieth-century play culture and, through a two-year ethnographic study of play and games in two primary school playgrounds, contemporary children's play cultures. In addition the research included the use of a prototype computer game to capture playground games and the making of a documentary film. Drawing on this extraordinary data set, the volume poses three questions: What do these hitherto unseen sources reveal about the games, songs and rhymes the Opies and others collected in the mid-twentieth century? What has happened to these vernacular forms? How are the forms of vernacular play that are transmitted in playgrounds, homes and streets transfigured in the new media age? In addressing these questions, the contributors reflect on the changing face of childhood in the twenty-first century - in relation to questions of gender and power and with attention to the children's own participation in producing the ethnographic record of their lives.

The result of a unique research project exploring the relationship between children's vernacular play cultures and their media-based play, this collection challenges two popular misconceptions about children's play: that it is depleted or even dying out and that it is threatened by contemporary media such as television and computer games. A key element in the research was the digitization and analysis of Iona and Peter Opie's sound recordings of children's playground and street games from the 1970s and 1980s. This framed and enabled the research team's studies both of the Opies' documents of mid-twentieth-century play culture and, through a two-year ethnographic study of play and games in two primary school playgrounds, contemporary children's play cultures. In addition the research included the use of a prototype computer game to capture playground games and the making of a documentary film. Drawing on this extraordinary data set, the volume poses three questions: What do these hitherto unseen sources reveal about the games, songs and rhymes the Opies and others collected in the mid-twentieth century? What has happened to these vernacular forms? How are the forms of vernacular play that are transmitted in playgrounds, homes and streets transfigured in the new media age? In addressing these questions, the contributors reflect on the changing face of childhood in the twenty-first century - in relation to questions of gender and power and with attention to the children's own participation in producing the ethnographic record of their lives.

A need for comprehensive services for young people requiring more intensive mental health services has been identified and this book explores what works in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) at this level. Specialist Mental Healthcare for Children and Adolescents looks at intensive outpatient and community services; assertive outreach teams; inpatient residential and secure provision; and other highly specialised assessment, consultation and intervention services. Based on the best available evidence, each chapter provides key points, research summaries and an overview of available treatments. It outlines emerging good practice guidance, service models, assessment, and training and workforce development requirements. This accessible text is essential reading for commissioners and professionals - including psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, therapists, social workers and teachers - working in specialist CAMHS services, as well as all those studying for qualifications in child and adolescent mental health.

The at-risk population is a growing segment of the American school population and one demanding the utmost from its teachers and program coordinators. Dr. Peterson's book is a welcome addition - straight forwards, though honest and hopefull of powerful ideas for class use.

The uniqueness of Child and Adolescent Life Stories lies in the multiple perspectives drawn from youth, their parents, and their teachers. These perspectives provide a range of lenses through which a student or beginning teacher may view child and adolescent development. The complex processes of development occur within a social context, and therefore a professional teacher, administrator, or school psychologist will need to be able to view developmental stages from youths' perspectives as well as from their various social settings. The twelve cases in this book were compiled from interviews and observations done with youth, their parents, and their teachers. The cases were then written from multiple perspectives, allowing the reader an opportunity to understand the influence of family, school, and society on the youths' development. Each case tells a youth's life story, including the events and relationships that have influenced the child and his or her cognitive, social, and emotional development. The youth in these cases represent a cross section of ages and socio-economic levels and exhibit diversity in their ethnic backgrounds, religious/spiritual beliefs, gender, family structures, and disabilities. The cases are intended to elicit discussion on a wide range of issues in development. To this end, this book explores many critical (and sometimes controversial) topics, such as teen pregnancy, sexual orientation, disabilities, child abuse, domestic violence, death of a parent, and more. This will allow instructors the greatest possible flexibility in supplementing their courses with life histories and cases. These cases are the perfect illustration of the complexity of a full life history. Key Features * Each case includes discussion questions and research and classroom activities, allowing students to further examine the issues presented in the case * Matrix organizes cases by subject's socio-economic level, ethnic background, gender, etc., allowing instructors and readers to pinpoint the most relevant cases for their study * "Connecting Across Cases" feature poses questions that encourage students to consider developmental issues in two or more cases * Cases cover the full range of development, from ages 4 to 18, which mirrors the range covered in most child and adolescent development courses and texts "This collection of stories provides some of the rich descriptive detail needed to put the complex process of development into perspective." -Miles Irving, Georgia State University "This is an excellent endeavor-well conceptualized and well executed. I would most definitely like to use this text in my undergraduate development classes." -Judith Rhoden, University of North Carolina, Charlotte "These case studies allow the reader a glimpse at the individual, family, and community dynamics that go into making each child who he or she is. This text will make a wonderful supplement for courses dealing with child development, educational psychology, families, communities, and parenting." -Deanna Nekovei, Texas A&M University This book is a welcome addition to the literature. As a reader one gets the sense that these cases are real. The authors do a great job of providing enough detailed information without overloading the reader. Such details allow the reader an opportunity to apply theory to real life examples. And, as a course instructor, these cases will provide me an opportunity to assess whether my students have a firm grasp of the concepts. -Karen M. Dutt-Doner, Niagara University

This seems to be a very useful book. It is a collection of review essays on specific, relevant topics in adolescent substance misuse, rather than the usual assortment of empirical reports that belong properly in journals. It is appropriately cross-disciplinary. Each chapter ends with a clear and concise summary. The problem has generated a rich and complex research literature, one that merits a coherent and comprehensive overview. Some of the chapters in this book contain useful reviews and interesting insights. --Stan Sadava in Addiction What factors contribute to the misuse of drugs and alcohol among teens? Does one's economic background or ethnicity play a role in their avoidance or involvement in substance misuse? Substance Misuse in Adolescence explores these questions and untangles widely held beliefs about substance abuse issues using historical, clinical, and research data. This volume begins with an introduction to the social history of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin and then examines individual, family, peer, and community variables that may contribute to substance misuse as well as resiliency factors that enable some teens to avoid such problems. It also discusses substance misuse in rural and urban settings, the pharmacological effects of specific substances, and current treatment approaches for substance-misusing youth. It also includes coverage of drug legalization issues and a lucid discussion of the current effectiveness of various prevention programs. Researchers, graduate students, and practitioners who want the latest synthesis and view on adolescent substance misuse will find this volume a useful addition to their libraries and classrooms.

This book examines the contemporary era where parents complain that children today don't do their homework because they are distracted by the Internet, texting, and video games. Texting Toward Utopia presents the writings of todays children and develops the argument that this is actually a time of mass literary, in which young people write furiously, albeit often below the adult radar. Agger argues that where texting replaces textbooks, the writing may be emoticon-laden, slangy, or terse, but it is still profound, as children (and their parents) engage in resistance and write for a better world. This book is a guide to understanding the meeting point between a new generation of children and new communication technologies.

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Using Evidence to Advance Research, Practice, Policy, and Prevention defines ACEs, provides a summary of the past 20 years of ACEs research, as well as provides guidance for the future directions for the field. It includes a review of the original ACEs Study, definitions of ACEs, and how ACEs are typically assessed. Other content includes a review of how ACEs are related to mental and physical health outcome, the neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking ACEs to psychopathology, sexual violence and sexual health outcomes, and violence across the lifespan. Important and contemporary issues in the field, like reconsidering how ACEs should be defined and assessed, the appropriateness of routine ACEs screening, thinking about ACEs from a public health and global perspective, strategies for preventing ACEs, understanding ACEs and trauma-informed care and resilience, and the importance of safe stable and nurturing environments for children are discussed. Adverse Childhood Experiences is a useful evidence-based resource for professionals working with children and families, including physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, lawyers, judges, as well as public health leaders, policy makers, and government delegates.

How did children feel in the Middle Ages and early modern times? How did adults feel about the children around them? This collection addresses these fundamental but rarely asked questions about social and family relations by bringing together two emerging fields within cultural history - childhood and emotion - and provides avenues through which to approach their shared histories. Bringing together a wide range of material and sources such as court records, self-narratives and educational manuals, this collection sheds a new light on the subject. The coverage ranges from medieval to eighteenth-century Europe and North America, and examines Catholic, Protestant, Puritan and Jewish communities. Childhood emerges as a function not of gender or age, but rather of social relations. Emotions, too, appear differently in source-driven studies in that they derive not from modern assumptions but from real, lived experience. Featuring contributions from across the globe, Childhood and Emotion comes a step closer to portraying emotions as they were thought to be experienced by the historical subjects. This book will establish new benchmarks not only for the history of these linked subjects but also for the whole history of social relations.

How did children feel in the Middle Ages and early modern times? How did adults feel about the children around them? This collection addresses these fundamental but rarely asked questions about social and family relations by bringing together two emerging fields within cultural history - childhood and emotion - and provides avenues through which to approach their shared histories. Bringing together a wide range of material and sources such as court records, self-narratives and educational manuals, this collection sheds a new light on the subject. The coverage ranges from medieval to eighteenth-century Europe and North America, and examines Catholic, Protestant, Puritan and Jewish communities. Childhood emerges as a function not of gender or age, but rather of social relations. Emotions, too, appear differently in source-driven studies in that they derive not from modern assumptions but from real, lived experience. Featuring contributions from across the globe, Childhood and Emotion comes a step closer to portraying emotions as they were thought to be experienced by the historical subjects. This book will establish new benchmarks not only for the history of these linked subjects but also for the whole history of social relations.

Traces historical constructions of adolescence and considers coming of age in the late 20th century Young adults in the modern era face a completely differently set of challenges from previous generations. Tracing historical constructions of adolescence and their role in maintaining social order, James E. Cote and Anton L. Allahar persuasively argue that young people today constitute one of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in society. Today, for the first time, teenagers and young adults in the United states, Canada, Japan, Scandinavia and Western Europe can expect to have a lower standard of living than their parents. Youth are conditioned to stay young linger and have, as a result, become socially and economically marginalized. Many young people amass credentials regardless of employment prospects and continue to live at home, often dependent on their parents, into their thirties. With fewer jobs available, young people are ironically targeted increasingly as consumers, rather than as producers. As new technologies continually reduce the work force and alter the social fabric, an entire generation of young people has struggled to keep up. What then does it mean to come of age in an advanced industrial or post-industrial society?

In acquiring communicative competence, children must learn to speak not only grammatically but also appropriately. Although rules for appropriate language use may vary from culture to culture, they are usually sensitive across languages to many of the same factors, including the context and the topic of the discourse, and the sex, age, familiarity and relative status of the speaker and the listener. There is available detailed evidence of the ways in which adults consistently modify their speech to foreigners, of phonological, syntactic, and lexical markings of language in professional settings, and of differences in men's and women's speech that are tied to their roles in society. This book examines young children's knowledge of the sociolinguistic rules that govern appropriate language use, exploring (i) the repertoire of registers (ie speech varieties) that young children possess; (ii) the linguistic devices that they use to mark distinct registers; (iii) the way their skill in using these registers develops.

How might society benefit if children were recognized as independent thinkers, capable of seeing clearly and contributing in valuable ways to our world? How would children's lives change if what they said was not often ignored or patronized? In the United States and around the world, ageism remains a widespread prejudice, leading us to make assumptions about, dismiss, and underestimate the perspectives of people of particular ages, including children. Before they utter a word, their voices are judged as less important than those of adults, or as not important at all. In a series of conversations with children about many of life's important philosophical questions, Seen and Not Heardreveals children as perceptive and original thinkers. Guided by discussions about the meaning of childhood, friendship, justice and fairness, happiness, and death, the book invites us to rethink our beliefs about children and become more receptive to the ways we can learn from the children in our lives.

This edited collection is an interdisciplinary and dialogical endeavor focused on the field of Nordic Girlhood Studies. It investigates young femininity as well as the key themes and concepts of Girlhood Studies, including girl power, feminisms, femininity, gender equality, postfeminism and sexualities in the specific cultural, historical and political context of the Nordic region. The chapters of the book consist of thematic case studies, including memories of girl power in the Finnish context, gendered harassment experienced and explained by Finnish girls, troublesome girlhood within the Swedish context and girls' subjectification projects in Nordic welfare state. Further, the case studies are accompanied by dialogical Outlook-essays, where researchers either outside Nordic region or from adjacent research fields reflect on Nordic Girlhood Studies through comparisons and reflections form their vantage point. The book will be of scholarly interest to researchers and students working especially on the fields of Girlhood Studies, Youth Studies, Gender Studies, Sociology and Cultural Studies both within the Nordic region and outside.

Steven Threadgold's study represents the first comprehensive engagement of Pierre Bourdieu's influential sociology with affect theory. With empirical research and examples from sociology, it develops a theory of "Affective Affinities," deepening our understanding of how everyday moments contribute to the construction and remaking of social class and aspects of inequalities. It identifies new ways to consider the strengths and weaknesses of Bourdieusian principles and their interaction with new developments in social theory. This is a stimulating read for students, researchers and academics across studies in youth, education, labour markets, pop culture, media, consumption and taste.

'We can reach far more people through sport than we can through political or educational programmes. In that way, sport is more powerful than politics. We have only just started to use its potential to build up this country. We must continue to do so.' - Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela's statement reflects a widely held view that sport can contribute in unique and far-reaching ways to the delivery of important social outcomes. But is this really the case? Can sport bring people from different backgrounds together, and in so doing act as a force for social transformation and change? In the language of policymakers and practitioners, can sport contribute to social inclusion or could it be argued that sport acts to marginalize and disadvantage some groups in society? In other words could sport reinforce, rather than challenge, social inequality? Focusing on youth sport as a touchstone sector of sport in society, this book examines the theoretical and empirical bases of arguments for the role of sport in social inclusion agendas. Authors are drawn from around the world and offer critical perspectives on assumptions underpinning the bold claims made about the power of sport. This book represents the most up-to-date and authoritative source of knowledge on inclusion and exclusion in youth sport. As such, it is essential reading for those who want to use sport to 'make a difference' in young people's lives. It is, therefore, recommended for students, researchers, policy makers and practitioners working in sports development, sports coaching, sport studies or physical education.

The acclaimed author of the groundbreaking bestseller Schoolgirls reveals the dark side of pink and pretty: the rise of the girlie-girl, she warns, is not that innocent.

Sweet and sassy or predatory and hardened, sexualized girlhood influences our daughters from infancy onward, telling them that how a girl looks matters more than who she is. Somewhere between the exhilarating rise of Girl Power in the 1990s and today, the pursuit of physical perfection has been recast as the source of female empowerment. And commercialization has spread the message faster and farther, reaching girls at ever-younger ages. But how dangerous is pink and pretty, anyway? Being a princess is just make-believe; eventually they grow out of it . . . or do they?

In search of answers, Peggy Orenstein visited Disneyland, trolled American Girl Place, and met parents of beauty-pageant preschoolers tricked out like Vegas showgirls. The stakes turn out to be higher than she ever imagined. From premature sexualization to the risk of depression to rising rates of narcissism, the potential negative impact of this new girlie-girl culture is undeniable--yet armed with awareness and recognition, parents can effectively counterbalance its influence in their daughters' lives.

Dickens and the Children of Empire examines the themes of childhood and empire throughout Dickens' ouevre. The prestigious group of contributors initiate and extend debates on the subjects of post-colonialism, literature of the child, and present childhood as an apt metaphor for the colonized subject in Dickens' work.